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Latest Governors' Report

Ofsted's Parent View

Friendship Club Donation to School

Instead of sending Christmas cards the ‘Friendship Club’ which meet on a Wednesday afternoon at the Danby Centre, Yorkley, decided they would rather give donations to a nominated charity. This year they decided to give the money raised to Heart of the Forest School.Representatives of the school, Sol Cotterell and William Cummings, went along to the club on Wednesday 8th February, with their teacher, Josie Arnold, to receive the cheque on behalf of the school.

We are delighted that they chose Heart of the Forest School to receive this donation and would like to thank them for thinking of us.

This school supports the safeguarding of children. All references will be examined and enhanced DBS checks sought.

Welcome

Heart of the Forest Community Special School is the only school in the Forest of Dean serving children and young people who have severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties and complex needs. Our pupils range from 3 – 19 years.

Like any other school in the country, teaching and learning is based on the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Curriculum.

Playgrounds and a grassed area are available to the pupils together with large play equipment and enclosed play areas with safety surfaces for the younger pupils.

Information and Communication Technology is used throughout the School with interactive white boards in every classroom and a good supply of relevant and structured programme material is available to all pupils.

We believe that Education is a partnership between home, school and Governors. We aim to build on the things your child has already learned, to work closely with you and involve you in all aspects of school life.

May we invite you to take every opportunity to come into school on both formal and informal occasions? Together we will ensure that we work for the benefit of your child to give him or her the best possible start in life based on a well-balanced education.

School Closures

In case of unforeseen school closures, e.g. heavy snowfall or very severe storms, parents are asked to tune into the local radio station, Heart FM or Radio Gloucestershire, to find out whether Heart of the Forest Community Special School is closed. A list of affected schools should be broadcasted regularly. Gloucestershire County Council website lists school closures. We also belong to the text messaging service Teachers2Parents, and will send an appropriate message to the mobile phone number we have been given, or a voice-mail equivalent to the home phone.

Celebrating the impact of Music Therapy

School News

Fair Aware School Award

Within their theme of ‘Fair Trade’ Key Stage 3 started work on earning a Fairtrade award for the School. Through their work on the award pupils learnt about where some foods come from, fairness, the charity Fairtrade, and that they could make a difference to the lives of others. Some of the pupils shared this knowledge with the senior school in an assembly. Over the summer the work was submitted to Fairtrade and the school was awarded the Fairaware Award.

These are some of the pupils who worked on the award.

New Sensory Room at Heart of the Forest School

On Friday 10th February we held the official opening of our newly refurbished sensory room at Heart of the Forest School.

Heart of the Forest Community Special School places a very high value on learning outcomes for their pupils. We are an all age special school catering for students aged 3-19 with profound and complex learning needs. Traditional learning methods are not always suitable for our pupils and a holistic approach that allows stimulation of all the senses as well as access to alternative learning experiences is very important. The new sensory equipment has been designed to provide visual, auditory, tactile, kinaesthetic and olfactory stimulation.

This refurbishment was made possible by a number of kind donations from Pied Piper, The Sedbury Trust, Gloucestershire Disability Fund, Barnwood Trust plus other private donations. We would like to express our sincere thanks to them for making this project possible.

The photograph shows pupils trying out the new equipment with Headteacher, Melissa Bradshaw plus representatives from Pied Piper and the Gloucestershire Disability Fund.